KRAFTON Agrees To Pay Subnautica Devs Up To $250 Million, It’s Reported

A new report has revealed that Subnautica 2’s sales have led to Krafton agreeing to pay the promised earnout of up to $250 million.

For those unaware, there was a long legal battle between Krafton and the developers of Subnautica 2 over the earnout, in which the devs claimed Krafton was intentionally delaying the release, while Krafton alleged that the execs had abandoned the title. The lawsuit eventually led to the Subnautica 2 CEO being reinstated, and now, it seems the promised earnout will be provided as well.

Subnautica 2’s Spectacular Sales Will Reportedly Lead to Krafton Paying the Promised Earnout

As spotted by IGN, a new report by Korean Economic Daily states that their game industry sources have learned that Krafton has agreed to pay Subnautica 2’s earnout of up to $250 million to the shareholders. The South Korean company will reportedly have to pay “$3.12 for every $1, or up to $250 million, to Unknown Worlds’ former shareholders every time the studio’s revenue topped $69.8 million a month since the Korean game developer acquired the US firm in 2021.” The $250 million sum was about 35% of its operating profit last year.

Subnautica 2 has had impressive sales, reaching 1 million copies sold on its first day, even while still in early access. It also significantly surpassed the previous game’s all-time player peak, nearing 500,000 concurrent players. To date, the title has sold over 4 million copies and, according to an Alinea Analytics report, generated $100 million in a week and currently holds the record for the fastest-selling game on Steam for 2026.

In other news, Subnautica 2 developers, Unknown Worlds, have revealed the three areas they are focusing on for early access. Additionally, Unknown Worlds revealed the Subnautica 2 Early Access roadmap, teasing co-op upgrades, new biomes, vehicles, and story content. What are your thoughts on Subnautica 2 devs getting the promised earnout of up to $250 million from Krafton? Leave your thoughts down in the comments, and join the official Insider Gaming Discord server.

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